Lost in Translation
by g-na-1358
Summary: "Levi, you have a fucking PhD in English language and literature. Can you actually use that degree once in a damn while?"


For ereri-writing-prompts . tumblr . com Prompt 7: Numinous. It's probably not what the prompt was going for XD

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When Eren met Levi years ago, he was fascinated by the number of languages the older man could speak. Eren himself could barely use his own language and nothing beside that, not even German except the very basics despite his German-born parents' efforts. The fact Levi could switch between 5 different languages without blinking had always made him admire and fear the man.

He never would have guessed that very ability would turn into such a fucking hassle soon after he started dating the man.

"Levi, I'm going to the store, do you want anything?" Eren called from where he was putting on his shoes by the door.

The answer was immediate. "Nie."

A frown found its way to Eren face as he stared back towards the source of the voice that he couldn't see. "Does that mean 'no'?" he asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"Yes, that means 'no'. I don't need anything."

Eren didn't say anything back, just rolled his eyes and left the house they had moved into just a week prior.

Unfortunately for Eren, conversations like that happened often between the two of them. Levi would just randomly start talking in a foreign language while Eren wouldn't understand a word he said. At first, Eren thought it was the eternal problem of multilingual people, just as it sometimes happened to Mikasa or his parents; they would complain how they kept forgetting words in one language only to remember in a different one. But... it didn't take Eren long to realize that Levi was doing it on purpose.

Actually, he would have to be stupid to _not_ realize after a different conversation took place.

It was almost time to walk their dog and Eren spent the last five minutes looking for the sweet, young Irish wolfhound they had recently adopted from their local shelter, and whom Levi had affectionately named Shithead. Or well, his name was really Werewolf – on Eren's insistence, despite protests from Levi and judging looks from Mikasa and Armin – but everyone found themselves calling him by Levi's nickname after a while.

"Do you know where the dog is?" Eren asked Levi finally, after a few more minutes of fruitless search.

"Er is in dem Garten," Levi answered without missing a beat.

Eren narrowed his eyes, glaring at his boyfriend. "Levi, I know for a fact you can't speak a word of German."

Levi only shrugged, his lips twitching, making Eren groan as he ran a hand over his face in frustration. "Did you actually go to Google translate for _this?_ Just to annoy me?"

Levi shook his head, pretending to look innocent but the smirk that finally broke out on his face betrayed him. "Nein. Ich habe deine Mutter gefragt."

"You asked my mother," Eren repeated after him, incredulous, and Levi only nodded. He was obviously proud of himself.

At that, Eren could only throw his hands up and turn on his heel to go pick Werewolf up from the garden. He briefly wondered if Levi let him out _just_ so he could use that simple German sentence and although he tried to stop himself, he couldn't help the small chuckle at the idea. He had to admit Levi's dedication to his cause was incredible, even if it pissed him off most of the time.

That didn't stop him from sending his mother a very unhappy text that evening.

However, even though Levi joking like this was funny once in a while, it still got very old very fast. And at one point, Eren had enough.

The last straw came when one day, the two of them were trying to cook together. Eren had absentmindedly asked Levi to hand him the flour and Levi's only response was, "잠깐만..."

"Okay, I have absolutely _no idea_ what you just said. Can you _stop?_ " Eren barked in annoyance before taking a deep breath to calm down, all the while angrily glaring at Levi as he fished for the requested ingredient inside the cabinet.

When Levi finally turned to face him, he looked Eren straight in the eyes shamelessly, the greys looking suspiciously amused, even as the rest of his face remained neutral.

"Nie. Tu," he replied flatly as if it was obvious, before handing the flour over, completely uncaring of Eren's rising temper.

Eren, however, was quiet done.

Ignoring Levi impatiently gesturing for him to take what he had asked for, Eren folded his arms on his chest and glared down at his boyfriend. "Levi, you have a fucking PhD in English language and literature. Can you actually _use_ that degree _once in a damn while_?" he growled lowly, narrowing his eyes and making sure his expression conveyed exactly how unamused he was by Levi's antics.

He watched as Levi blinked up at him once, twice, slowly taking in his tone of voice and body language. Neither of them said anything for a long, terribly tense moment and by the time Levi finally opened his mouth to speak, Eren was fully prepared to walk out of the kitchen and slam the door shut behind him if the next words out of Levi's mouth were some smartass remark in a new, weird language.

But instead, what he heard was, "I'm sorry."

Eren paused, already half-turned in the direction of the door before he looked back at Levi with astonishment to make sure he didn't hear him wrong. Did the man actually apologize? Seriously?

"I'm sorry, it was funny seeing you get all annoyed over it but I went too far. I'll stop," Levi mumbled as he shifted in place awkwardly and Eren couldn't help but smile at the sight. Levi, awkward and nervous was a sight many people would pay to see. And Eren savoured every second of it.

Eventually, he took pity on the fidgeting man before him and let out a small chuckle that made Levi glance back at him. "It's okay, as long as you stop," Eren said with a small smile, reaching out to take Levi's hand in his.

Levi blinked with surprise over how easily Eren forgave him. He knew he took his teasing too far, he fully expected at least two days of making amends before Eren accepted his apology. But Eren did so without question and Levi was beyond grateful. He still would go and buy him his favourite chocolates though.

Squeezing Eren's hand gently, Levi smiled back, an apologetic look still apparent in his eyes as he stood up on his tip-toes to give Eren a small, thankful kiss. Eren grinned against his lips and immediately, arms went around Levi's waist to pull him closer.

Levi chuckled at Eren's eagerness before he lightly licked his lower lip, making Eren moan lowly as he opened his mouth a bit to let Levi's tongue inside. Levi complied without hesitation, running his tongue over Eren's slowly, his hands travelling up and down Eren's sides before slipping underneath his shirt and making Eren moan again.

In that moment, something furry, giant, and _heavy_ collided into them, making them both cry out in surprise. Jerking away from Levi, Eren clutched at his chest as he stared at Werewolf with wide eyes, shock rendering him speechless. Werewolf only stared back, his eyes sparkling and tail wagging.

"Putain! This fucking Shithead," Levi cursed in between clenched teeth as he clutched at his side. When Werewolf crashed into them, he pushed Levi right into the counter, making the hard marble dig deep into his flesh and hurt like a bitch.

Levi froze just a second later, however, as he realized what he had just said. He looked up at Eren uncertainly, gauging his boyfriend's expression, but the boy only gave him a confused frown in return.

"Sorry, I did it again," Levi said sheepishly, running a hand over his undercut nervously when it became obvious Eren wouldn't say anything about it.

Eren only blinked at him a few times, taken aback. But then he burst out laughing, earning himself a puzzled look from Levi and an excited nudge from Werewolf. He petted the dog affectionately before he looked at Levi, more laughter still threatening to bubble out of his chest. "You can swear in whatever language you want, love. You don't need to be so be so scared," he explained, not bothering to keep the amusement out of his voice. Werewolf mimicked Eren then, looking at Levi as well while his tongue lolled out to hang from his mouth in what looked like an expression equally as entertained as Eren's. Shitheads, making fun of him.

Levi grumbled a bit, glaring at the both them. He wanted to be angry, he really did. But hell, in that moment, they were too precious to make him feel anything but a comfortable warmth and despite his better judgement, Levi felt a smile tug at his lips.

He could be mad at them later, once the inevitable bruise on his side formed and reminded him how his furry shithead tried to kill him, while his other shithead only laughed. Right then, Levi only shook his head and took a step closer, putting one hand on Werewolf's head while he used his other one to pull Eren to his level.

Yes; he could be mad later.


End file.
